New technology could end the debate over pipeline safety

On top of a 3.3% decline in US crude oil prices on Wednesday comes news from Reuters that a US State Department official said the year-end target to approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline could well be missed. It would be the second time a decision has been pushed out. A surge in inventories at the Cushing hub in the Midwest, the pricing point for US crude was behind the fall and a further delay to Keystone, designed to carry Canadian crude to Texas refineries and relieve the Cushing glut, will hit oil sands producers particularly hard. Canada's heavy oil already sells at almost a $30 discount to the international price.

Canada's number one coal producer and world-leading nickel miner, Sherritt jumped 10.2% on Wednesday after reporting a doubling of quarterly net earnings and good progress at its massive Ambatovy project in Madagascar. Sherritt will start production at Ambatovy in the first quarter of next year. The company has already spent more than 90% of the planned $5.5 billion to build what will be the world's biggest nickel mine with the capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 of cobalt a year. Sherritt and its Asian partners have made the largest investment in the island's history and will make nickel the country's number one export for the next 27 years.

Bellhaven Copper & Gold (CVE:BHV), a Canadian exploration company operating in Panama and Colombia, received a 10.2% equity interest investment by IAMGOLD Corporation which will subscribe for eleven million units of Bellhaven at C$0.55 per unit. In mid-October, IAMGOLD (TSE:IMG) said it was going start buying new companies that would complement its core strengths, established relationships with foreign governments and working experience in Africa and the Americas. "The private placement will build our treasury to approximately $9.6 million, allowing us to ramp-up the exploration programs at La Mina," said Paul Zweng, Bellhaven's interim CEO and director.

Toronto, ON – October 26, 2011: Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) announced today that its Mining Division has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $80 million for work at a new potash mine, located approximately 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Under the unit price contract, Aecon Mining will conduct site preparation and early works, including site grading, construction of temporary roads, preparation of sediment ponds, and layouts for the camp. Work at the site has begun and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012. “This contract represents an important step forward for Aecon Mining, expanding its client base and its reach in Western Canada’s resource sector,” said Teri McKibbon, Aecon’s Chief Operating Officer. “The potash industry in Saskatchewan is undergoing significant growth, and Aecon is strategically positioned to play a role in many aspects of that growth.”

In the last decade spending on exploration in British Columbia has increased 20 fold. It was another bright spot for British Columbia's mining sector, as covered in PricewaterhouseCoopers' industry survey. "The estimated total economic output, value added GDP employment generated from exploration and development activities are $352 million, $168 million and 3,017 jobs respectively," wrote the survey authors.

Legislation introduced in the Queensland state parliament could have a negative impact on mining. The bill, the first of its kind to be introduced in Australia, bans mines that would make land unusable for farming, the Courier-Mail reported Wednesday: "The resources sector is growing in Queensland, but our government's commitment is to sustainable growth supporting mining in the right places, while ensuring best agriculture land is protected for future generations," (Environment Minister Rachel) Nolan said in a statement.

Gold climbed to a month high on Tuesday, briefly breaching the psychologically important $1,700 level, but the rally quickly ran out of steam. Gold for December delivery settled up $48, or just under 3%, at $1,700.40 an ounce in New York but in after hours trade the precious metal pulled back to change hands at $1,696. Earlier in the day the CEO of world no.3 gold producer AngloGold Ashanti, Mark Cutifani told Reuters he sees sees no bubble in gold and prices could easily go higher. Gold reached a record high of $1,920 in September and at $1,700 is still up about a quarter from a year ago.

The world's largest potash producer by output said today it plans to spend $5.8B to increase capacity over the next decade to take advantage of rising potash prices. Uralkali (LON:URKA) said its expansion program includes both brownfield and greenfield mines. Brownfield projects include 1.5 million tonnes of additional capacity at Berezniki 4, increased efficiencies and removal of bottlenecks at Berezniki-2 and 3, as well as Solikamsk-2 and -3, adding a million tonnes in total, and a two-phase expansion program at Solikamsk-3, increasing its capacity by 2 million tonnes.

AP reports one of the four bronze sculptures that included a Jules Dalou, sculptor of the famous Triomphe de la République in Paris (pictured), stolen from the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa since January, were probably melted down and the copper content sold for a paltry $250. The market for scrap metal has grown dramatically in recent years and China alone imports some 400,000 tonnes of scrap copper per month. So called No. 2 copper scrap, which typically consists of a mixture of wire and tubing, sells for roughly 40 cents below the futures prices, which on Tuesday was $3.40/pound.